Bretton Woods. At the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, two
proposals were made to manage international payment imbalances.
What were these two plans? How were they supposed to work? What was
the primary difference between them? Which plan ultimately
prevailed (and why)?
Essay Question: Explain the Triffin Dilemma. How does the
dilemma explain the collapse of Bretton Woods? Does it explain the
fragility of the current system of dollar hegemony?
Note: In dealing with the above you may find it very helpful to
include some of the following: Keynes' barbarous relic, asymmetric
adjustment, International Clearing Union, Bancor.
As a result of the Bretton Woods system, what happened with the
exchange rates? Was it fixed? Was it floating? (10p)
Why did the Bretton Woods system collapse?
Would be such a system feasible nowadays?